Trump Regime

‘there’s no legal defense’

Written by SK Ashby

I've always assumed that prosecutors would not file charges against Trump's company and people close to him unless they had very strong evidence, but this looks ironclad.

The specific charges filed against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer (CFO) Allen Weisselberg include a rather extraordinary and damning piece of evidence that explicitly details exactly how much money was hidden from the state.

They literally kept separate books.

"Obviously, prosecutors have to prove everything they say, but some of the things in the indictment — there's just no legal defense for it," said Daniel Shaviro, a professor of taxation at NYU Law.

The 15-count indictment charges the company and longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg with scheming to defraud, tax fraud and falsifying records, while Weisselberg was also hit with a grand larceny charge. Prosecutors say he used his position to get out of paying taxes on $1.7 million in income. [...]

Also damning is that the indictment said the company kept two sets of books — a private one that counted Weisselberg's apartment and cars as part of his $940,000-a-year compensation, and another that didn't, allowing him to pay taxes on less income. "I don't see how you don't charge this," Shaviro said.

If Weisselberg evaded taxes on $1.7 million in income by offloading it onto the company's books, I can only assume he did so with Trump's knowledge or blessing. Moreover, I assume Trump himself and/or his children have done the same in varying magnitudes.

Trump has not immediately thrown Weisselberg under the bus and only attacked the prosecution as politically motivated. I infer that Trump would have attacked Weisselberg if he had done something without his blessing. Trump may also not want to give Weisselberg any reason to flip against him, but it's possible that prosecutors don't need Weisselberg to file more charges against Trump's company or other individuals.

Trump's former henchman Michael Cohen recently said prosecutors don't need Weisselberg and now I can see why he said that.

To some extent, the evidence against Trump has been known by authorities and the public for a long time.